After a period of limited beta testing, Citibank officially announced today that remote check deposits can now be done using its mobile app for Android. Just snap a picture of the check, and it's deposited remotely. The deposit limit seems to be $1,000 per day (at least it was during the beta), so it won't replace going to a local branch to deposit your paycheck just yet for some of you.

Sounds great. but does it work? I've been using the Chase app to deposit the few occasional checks that come in and haven't needed to go to a bank for a long time, but since Citibank is my main banking account, I decided to check it out.

Logged in using my username and password after accepting the ToS - check.

Clicked Deposit - and... kaboom, it crapped out. Repeatedly. Looks like there's a bit of a backlog due to the public release, and Citi couldn't handle the load. Bummer. I guess we'll just have to wait.

On that note, apparently the deposit process is over-the-top annoying. To quote one of the users:

The worst part of their implementation is that you need to enter your ATM card # and some piece of identification like PIN or last 4 digits of SS# almost every time you go into the feature. On their website they typically make you do this before enabling some feature but I've never seen them ask for the info every time.

And another:

I could live with the bugs if I didn't have to enter my ATM card # each time I go in. But that is a real PITA and I finally got fed up with it.

So, to summarize: it's great that remote check deposit has been turned on for Citi customers, but it still has a lot of room for improvement. For example, it could, you know, actually work. It doesn't look like the Chase app is getting uninstalled any time soon (plus, its deposit limits are a lot higher too).